The End, The Beginning
by SilentButHEARD
Summary: Some flock memebers can no longer tolerate Max and her quest to save the world. They're tired. Their fed up. They quit. Fang stays behind to watch after them while Max and her minnie Flock try to protect the world from constant danger. 10 YEARS LATER.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: 'Kay here's the deal, right now I have a MAJOR case of writers block so to pass the time – and to help get those creative juices going – I'm writing another story. And don't worry. I am **_**not**_** giving up on Maximum Ride: Shadows.**

***I know this plot is way overdone but I'd thought I'd take a whack at it. I have ever since I've read Book 3, Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports.**

**Disclaimer: All content and material in regards to the Maximum Ride series belongs to James Patterson. I own nothing! (It's like a slap in the face each time I write that …)**

**Fang's POV**

Drip, drip, drip

Ugh…

Drip, drip, drip

Come on …

Drip, drip –

"Shut up!"

Iggy raised his eyebrow at me – well not directly at me, but at a spot close by me for sure.

"What's your problem?"

"Damn faucet." I muttered

"You know things like that can be easily fixed, watch and learn." Iggy walked with exaggerated slowness to the sink then – just as annoyingly slow – turned one of the knobs so the drip, drip, dripping of the faucet stopped.

"See? Problem solved." Iggy said in a voice of mock pride.

"Thanks." I muttered reluctantly.

Iggy sighed. "Okay, what's up?"

"It's the 23rd."

"And …?"

"It's the 23rd of June, remember." I said softly.

"Yeah so … oh, I remember." Iggy's face turned into a mask of grief that mirrored my own.

June 23rd.

The day the flock split up.

"_So, what now?"_

_Max shifted uncomfortably. It was the question we both wanted to avoid, but I knew we were going to have to sooner or later. "What to you mean?" she asked hesitantly. She already knew what I meant._

"_Max," I paused until her eyes met mine again. "You've seen them. They're tired of this. We're all tired."_

"_What do you want me to say, Fang? 'Okay kids let's _forget_ about trying to save the world, let's _forget _about the_ _millions of lives that are depending on us' I can't do that and you know I won't. It's wrong. I have a duty and if I didn't see it through … I wouldn't be able to live with myself. But I do agree with on you on one thing, it _is_ wrong to subject the others to a cause that they don't – that they don't believe in anymore."_

"_So…" She drew a deep breath._

"_So…?" I was afraid of what she'd say next. I was right to be afraid._

"_I'm going to go off on my own. I'm going to finish what I started. Anyone who wants to go with me can but … anyone who doesn't …" Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. She didn't say anything else. She didn't have to. I understood that anyone who didn't go with her had to stay with me. I was her second- in- command. I had to protect them. _

_Even if it meant leaving her behind._

"_Max…" I looked her over one more time. Even though she looked a breath away from crying she still had that same look on her face. Defiant. Fierce. Determined. Strong._

_Oh, God. She was really going to this._

_I swallowed the lump of cotton in my throat and finally said,_

"_Good luck."_

And that was it.

**Short, I know, but Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Hey guys. A big thanks to TaKeMeToPaRiS153, Raccchel, -xXx 'M' NaMeS RoCk xXX-, rose the packs fang, and Anara Celebvilya. Thanks for reviewing guys, I hope you like this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: All content and material in regards to the Maximum Ride series belongs to James Patterson. I own nothing!**

**Fang's POV**

Iggy cleared his throat loudly. Apparently I had spaced out for a while.

"Yeah, well, we can't keep moping about it." said Iggy. "It happened ten years ago."

I didn't say anything.

"And besides, it's not like they're coming back anytime soon. So, who needs them?"

I did. But I just nodded.

By 'them' he meant Max, Angel, and the Gasman. Iggy and Nudge were the ones who wanted to stay behind.

"_Alright guys." Max stood up. "I've given you all a few days to think about this. I know this can't be an easy decision, but I know some are aren't exactly happy with this lifestyle anymore. So … who wants to come with me and who wants to stay?"_

_Angel immediately stood up and then trotted over to Max's side. Well, that was a give in. I wasn't too sure about the rest of them. We were all around the campfire on the cliff's ledge. It was late and I was tired and stressed. "I'll go with you, Max" she said. Max took her hand and nodded. Her smile was a little tight though. I had a feeling that wherever she was about to go wasn't going to be safe for a seven-year old._

_Nudge stood up slowly. "Max … I can't. I'm sick and tired of all this. I don't want to be without you, you're like my sister but," she stifled a sob "I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore .I don't want to go dumpster diving for food or looking over my shoulder every moment because something might attack. I want to find my mom and go to school and sleep in the same bed every night and be happy and be - normal." She looked at Max desperately for a long moment, as if she were waiting for her to say something. She didn't. Max's mouth was clamped shut and she just nodded again._

_Nudge sank back to the ground. Then the Gasman stood up. I wondered what he was going to say._

"_Here's the thing. I'm tired of all the bad stuff too …but" He stood up straighter. "But if we just leave all the evil people alone, then what? Even if we try to be normal we'll be surrounded by so many bad people it won't even matter." He turned toward Iggy. "I'm sorry, dude, you're my best friend but I have to do this and-" He flickered a glance toward Angel "I can't leave my sister."_

_He walked toward Max._

_And then there was Iggy. He didn't even stand up. He simply said "I'm staying. I'm sorry."_

_Max nodded again and said "Okay. Okay. Angel and Gazzy get ready to leave in the morning." Then she turned and walked away._

Now it's just me, Iggy, and Nudge. We all live in Manhattan. Unfortunately, though we looked for a long time – a good four years – we never found any of our parents. Iggy and I share an apartment. Iggy works as an assistant manager for a Duane Reade store. I'm a substitute teacher. Hey they're jobs. They pay the bills. Nudge is still in college. She attends NYU. Thank God she got a scholarship otherwise I don't know how we would have paid for it. Nudge waitresses on the side to help pay for her dorm and … other expenses (Clothes. Shoes. And more shoes.)

The apartment Iggy and I share is close to the campus so we can keep in touch with Nudge.

Iggy was talking about some game that was coming on. I wasn't really listening. I was still thinking about what happened. We never did find out what happened to Max or Angel or Gazzy. We just assumed they were okay because every now and then we'd see a story about some secret illegal base being blown up or unexplained litters of robot parts all over a field in Montana. We knew the others were behind it.

It's been ten years since I'd seen her – them – and I wonder how they're doing. Have they changed at all or were they exactly the same as before. Did Gazzy still sing the Constipation Song? Did Angel still want to take over the world? Did Max still have … was Max okay?

I worried about her. I remembered when she'd have these awful breakdowns, crying and screaming. I was the own who'd help her whenever they happened. Who'd help her now?

"Yo." I blinked and looked at Iggy "Are you even listening?"

"Um, yeah" I said uneasily "Something about the game right?"

Iggy rolled his eyes "Yeah I was talking about the game about ten minutes ago. No I was asking you if you wanted to meet Linda and me at that club in Soho." Linda was Iggy's girlfriend. She was tall, had dark brown hair, and green eyes. She was actually very pretty. I would tease Iggy sometimes saying 'What drug did you have to buy to get her?' Seriously though, they're great together.

"Not sure yet."

"Oh come one!" Iggy exclaimed. "You never do anything fun! And…" He smiled slyly "It's about time you got a girlfriend. How long has it been now?"

"Not that long" I said defensively. I had a few girlfriends. I dated … what's her name … oh yeah; I dated Taylor off and on for a while. And there was … okay, yeah, my dating history is pathetic.

"Dude, come on."

"Alright."

"Really?"

"Yes, fine, I'll go." I said reluctantly.

"Cool – oh, hey, it's almost 6:30 we better get going or we'll be late for work." Iggy said, already hoisting himself off the couch.

I rubbed my forehead "Yeah, we better get ready."

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"Fang!"

"Hey, Nudge."

"You're off work already?"

"Nah, lunch break"

We were in Washington Park. I eat lunch here sometimes, just to get out of that rowdy school. At about 12:30 I ran into Nudge.

"So what's up?" She asked plopping herself on the bench besides me.

I shrugged. "Nothing much. Going to meet Iggy and Linda at Club Zero."

"Really! Ooooh, can I come?"

I raised my eyebrows at her. I didn't care if she was 22 now. I still saw a little twelve year old.

"Oh, please, Fang. I'm an adult now. Why can't I come with you guys?"

"Fine" I said.

"Thanks! – Oh. I'm going to be late for class. Later!" She ran off into one of the buildings surrounding Washington Park.

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It was 9:30 P.M now. I was fiddling with my jacket. It was almost time to head out.

As embarrassing as it is to say I was nervous.

It's been a while since I've gone to a club. It wasn't meeting a girl I was worried about – not to toot my own horn or anything but getting a girl wasn't exactly a hardship for me. I was more worried about just letting loose and having fun. Was I even capable of that anymore?

"Fang, time to go!" Iggy called.

Well. Here goes nothing.

***1 hour later***

The club is dark, but brought to life with dozens of flashes of light. The music is pulsating through body. I'm sitting at the end of the elaborate bar with a small scotch in hand. Iggy and Linda are busy gyrating on the dance floor. Not a pretty sight. Nudge was jabbering away to her fifty million friends, the life of the party and I'm … I'm sitting alone drinking a scotch. How depressing. I scan the crowd again, just people watching and that's when I saw her.

She was sitting at the other end of the bar. Her long blonde hair was tossed back. She wore a white tank top that showed a little midriff and a long, lacey open blue sweater over that and blue jeans. She had a beautiful figure and her legs were crossed casually as she sipped on a martini. She looked a little bored, actually. I craned my neck to get a better look of the woman – maybe I could go talk to her and … and …

Oh my God. It was Max.

**Please, please, please Review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: This chapter is in Fang's POV again, but I might make it Max's POV in the next chapter. I don't know if I should make this story sort of a real life drama with sci-fi characters. Or just have some big bad guy swoop in and cause trouble. I'm leading toward the first because (1) I'm already writing a Max-must-beat-up-the-bad-guys type story and (2) There aren't a lot of those real life dramas in the Maximum Ride Genre. Give me some feedback on what you'd like to see this turn into. Also a big thanks to –xXx- 'M' NaMeS RoCk xXx-, Kelsey Goode, xoxoxoBethany, Anara Celebvilya, Random5185, midnight-flyer, Raccchel, Silent Broken Heart, twilighternerd1220, and 123-Cat-Cat-321. Thanks for reviewing guys!**

**Disclaimer: All material and content in regards to the Maximum Ride series belongs to James Patterson. I own nothing!**

**Fang's POV**

I tossed and turned in my bed, still frustrated over my meeting with Max. It hadn't gone as I expected, but then when did anything go as I planned?

I closed my eyes and buried my face in my pillow, inhaling the clean, soapy smell it earned from being recently washed.

I wanted to do nothing but breathe and think.

Breathe and remember …

"_Fang"_

_It was a warm sunny day. The sky was a clear, endless blue. It was the kind of day where you'd think wondrous think happened. Quite the opposite. _

_This was the day that would always be marked in infamy in my mind. The day I lost myself. The day the flock split up. June 23__rd__._

_Angel and the Gasman were all packed and ready for whatever dangers they had planned to face with Max._

_I was sitting on the rocky floor watching the sky and thinking. Thinking. What else could I do? Especially when there was so much to think about. About twenty minutes later I heard Max call my name._

"_Yeah" I answered. I turned my gaze to her, memorizing her …_

_She shifted her feet. "I just wanted to say – goodbye."_

_Goodbye. The words sounded so final. There was so much I wanted to say to her. So much I needed to say to her. But some how I knew – we both knew- it wouldn't help anything. It wouldn't do anything but deepen our pain._

_I looked into her brown eyes. Sad, now, but I've so many other emotions in them. Happy, angry, mournful, excited, fierce, amused, cold and warm. Those eyes seemed to tell a story. We didn't even need words to express how we felt most of the time._

_I nodded slightly in reconignition to what she had said and answered by also saying said "Goodbye"_

_And I tried to tell her everything else I couldn't say with my eyes._

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**Fang's POV (Earlier)**

No way, it couldn't be. But it was. It was Max. Her face was the same one I had grown up with. Older, perhaps, but _it was Max._

What should I do?

Go up to her and say hi, 'Long time no see' ?

No. That's corny. Maybe I could just walk by and happen to notice her as I did?

Or maybe I should just pretend not to notice her and let her come to me …?

Uh-huh. We all knew that wasn't going to happen. Okay Fang you can do this, you can –

I saw Max suddenly jump up. Immediately I tensed, at first thinking there was some sort of danger (Old habits die hard.) At first. Then I noticed there was a big smile plastered to her face and few seconds later some guy came up to her, smilingly just a widely as she did.

What the hell?

Who was he?

A friend? A … boyfriend?

Oh jeez. Maybe I should just –

"Fang!?"

Too late.

Max was coming toward me now. Her blonde hair, longer and fairer than I remembered, shone as it swung with every movement. She was beaming at me. Her lips were quivering though, like she was trying to hold back tears. My heart swelled. It would have an incredibly happy reunion – if not for the loser she was dragging behind her.

"Fang." She said my name with such deep warmth and trust that – for a moment – I was able to forget about Loser Dude.

"I've missed you so much"

Say something.

"I tried to look you guys up a few years ago, but I couldn't find anything."

Say something. Anything, you idiot!

"We changed our names a while back, so it'd be easier to blend."

Stupid. So stupid. She tells me she misses me and she tried to find me – and what do I say? I give her our security precautions.

It was true though. Iggy changed his name to Eric. Nudge changed her name to Monique, still hoping somewhere, somehow she'd find her parents and I changed my name to Daniel. Danny for short.

Loser Dude coughed.

"Oh." Max flinched and then looked at him and then blushed, like she hadn't realized he was there. Well. That was something. "I forgot to mention, this is my … friend, Jayden."

Loser Dude – Jayden – frowned at the "friend" description. He reached out to shake my hand. I shook his hand as well, with a little more force then necessary.

"Hey Fang, it's nice to finally meet you. Max told me so much about you." She did?

Her eyes flickered to me and back to Jayden in a flash.

With an easy laugh Jayden said "Alright, I'll let you two catch up. I can tell this is a little awkward for everyone." Max shot him a warning glance, but Jayden ignored it and loped back over to the other end of the bar.

"Sorry about that" she muttered. I shrugged.

Say something, you idiot! Tell her about how much you missed her or how you thought about her everyday or how you –

"So, are Nudge and Iggy with you?" she asked, abruptly disturbing my thoughts.

"Huh … oh yeah, Nudge is here with all her friends over there and Iggy is here with his girlfriend Linda."

"Hmmm, you know what? Why don't we catch up later? I've got so much to tell you and this really isn't the place for it. Oh, and I want you to see Angel and Gazzy too!" Angel and Gazzy? Angel and the Gasman, all grown up?

She reached into her sweater pocket and withdrew a pen.

"Um, give me your hand. So I can write down the address." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"What? I don't have any paper." I gave her my and. I rush of heat shot through my arm when she touched my hand. She quickly scrawled a few lines on the rough skin.

"That's it. Please come and bring the others with you. I've missed you all so much" I believed it. Every word she spoke trembled with profound emotion.

"I'll come. We'll all come. They've missed you guys too." And so have I.

I just couldn't bring myself to say it.

**And now can you all give me the fruit of my labor?**

**Curious Friend: And that would be …**

**To review! Review! Review!**


	4. Pale Green

**Author's Note: Finals, Regents, Science fair, oh my! All in all it's been a very busy week. Anyway, since the plot for this story is lees complicated I chose to update this one first. My other story happens to kill a few more of my brain cells so I'll update that one either sometime during this weekend or next weekend. But hey, once summer vacation comes I'll be able to update **_**much **_**more often. **

**Ps: Who isn't excited to read **_**Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel**_**, I already pre-ordered it!**

**Disclaimer: All material and content in regards to the Maximum Ride series belongs to James Patterson. I own nothing!**

**Max's POV**

The color of my wallpaper was a pale green. It was peeling in three places. It was irritating. I felt like ripping the paper of the wall so I wouldn't have to see the three little curls of pale green wallpaper jetting out two inches from the wall.

I was snug inside my little twin bed. Twin, because I couldn't afford a queen. I lived alone. Close to Gazzy and Angel but still … alone. The two youngest stuck by my side while we dismantled about 20 different types of weird-ass robots and really ticked about 75% of the worlds evil genius's. 10 years later and finally, _finally_, it was enough. For them. Angel and Gazzy eventually got tired of the fighting. But me? No.

I felt the pull, a nearly irresistible urge to always be out there in the field, protecting innocents and what not. Not to say I didn't feel the wear of the constant fighting every now and then. I did. God knows I've complained about it often enough. Even I needed a lil' break every now and then. But I could never truly throw in the towel.

Gazzy, at nineteen, got a tiny apartment in the city over in Greenwich Village. He works in the local library. Angel, who was seventeen now, decided to live with Gazzy because it was nearby the high school she now attended. It was amazing how fast she caught up with the others. Then again, when you could just "hear" the right answer from the teacher's mind …

I also live in an apartment in Greenwich Village . It's even smaller than Gazzy and Angel's because it's a one bedroom. A one bedroom with ugly wallpaper.

It was 5' o clock in the morning. I was curled up in my little bed. I've been up all night. And what per se has kept me up all night? It can be summed up in one word: Fang.

You see, yesterday I decided to meet a friend of mine at this place called Club Zero partly because I thought it would be fun and partly because I felt like I owed him. Let me explain. About a year ago I went solo to … investigate this place called W.C (By the way W.C stands for World Conquest, which was really one hell of a tip off.) and I was looking for a muy importante file on their computer database. This file contained information on all the areas of the ocean where the company was dumping toxic fluids illegally. One of their many crimes. Right when I was about to hack into said file a person – a whitecoat – popped in. He was tall, about six two. He had short dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. I pegged him to be about a few years older than me. As you can imagine I jumped about 10 feet in shock and then immediately readied myself into a fighting stance. The man raised his hands in a sign of truce and had said "Relax. I'm here to help."

And help he did. Apparently the man – whose name is Jayden – was also investigating W.C. We actually ended up working together, discovering W.C's secrets, destroying it from the inside out. During that time we grew pretty close. I even introduced him to the Gasman and Angel. They liked him a lot. And why wouldn't they? He was funny, strong, smart, charming, dependable, caring …

Um, yeah. So like I was saying they liked him. He and I are really good friends now. We hang out a lot. He still helps me out with stuff and never once asks for anything in return. Lately though I realized he had a bit more than friendship on his mind. This eventually led to a few stolen kisses, but that was it. I couldn't bring myself to commit. I wasn't ready. I was afraid. Afraid of being hurt. Making your self vulnerable to someone like that, so easily affected by what they say or do, or what happens to them; well … it's not some for someone like me.

Back to my current heartache. Fang.

What was with him? I mean I see him at the club, so overjoyed that it felt like my heart might have jumped out of my chest and he regards me like I was any person he might have met on the street. No wait. That's not true. Not entirely. Even with the stoic exterior, as hard as he tried to hide it, I could see the light in his eyes when he saw me. A light that gave me a faint hope that he might have missed me too.

I glanced at the digital clock on my bed stand. 5:15. Time to get up. Wearily I heaved myself off the bed. Just when I had finished my morning ritual of moaning, yawning, and stretching while muttering "My life sucks," the phone rang. I picked it up quickly to avoid prolonging the annoying ring.

"Max here."

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself." It was Jay. Suddenly my life didn't suck so much.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet up at Starbucks, my treat."

"Are you sure you want to offer that?" He knew I could consume enough food and drink to fill the Grand Canyon. And possibly send him into bankruptcy.

"Somewhat." I could hear the smile in his voice.

I glanced at the clock again. "I'll be late for work …" I started uneasily.

"Double cappuccino." The magic words.

"I'll meet you there soon. I just got up; I'll call before I leave."

"'Kay. See you there."

As soon as I put the phone back on the receiver it rung again.

"Max here."

"Max." I'd know that voice anywhere. It was Fang.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to keep my voice nonchalant.

"Iggy and Nudge want to meet up later at Washington Park around 4:00. They can't wait to see you. Will you come?"

Even though I missed them all terribly I was a little put off – Only Iggy and Nudge missed me? – but not enough where I would skip out seeing them after all these years. I wondered what they would look like now.

"Of course."

"Cool." And then he hung up. Jerk.

Shaking off my annoyance I fumbled my way to the bathroom, closed the door firmly, stripped off my clothes and let the soothing hot water of the shower take my problems away from me.

**My first Max's POV for this story. Tell me what you think. Review!**


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